The only time Alex Taylor lost the lead was during the pitstop phase, as Matt Spark was pitted later than the Tuscan, but normal service was quick to resume in the top three, with Patrick Scharfegger having handed the 3rd place Boxster over to Steve Cunniffe. Throughout the entire race, there were battles everywhere, and post-pitstop this theme was to continue. Stuart Jefcoate in his Porsche 993 was running very similar pace to Raymond Barrow in his Chevrolet Camaro, Luke Plummer in his Ginetta G20 enjoyed the company of the Charlie Fulk and Ben Richardson shared Porsche Boxster, and also making comparatively quiet progress through the field was Richard Harman in his Porsche 944 Turbo, who came 3rd in last years Silverstone meeting on the National circuit, and was looking to repeat the feat as he closed in on Cunniffe.
Tom Barley in his BMW 328i E36 had been part of the group that consisted of the Neal and Hayes cars before their pre-pitstop parlay, and during that time, the Talbot Sunbeam Lotus of Geoff Beale was also in the quartet. With the impact between Neal and Hayes separating this group, Barley and Beale continued their fighting. The Phil Seaman-tuned Talbot has been in the hands of Beale since 2012, and whilst Barley has raced several different BMWs with the CSCC since 2016, this battle wasn’t showing any signs of dispersing, and adding to the mixture was the shared Porsche 911 993 RSR of former army Major David Whelan and Aidan Farrell
The BMW 323i E21 of long-time CSCC member Matthew Irons, shared with grandson Jake Severs, was also always found in a group of cars at various stages of the race, but the BMW veteran decided last year that 2023 was to be his final season of racing, either selling the BMW at the end of the year or returning it to a road car. One of the few, if not only, Grandfather Grandson combinations look set to see the year out in fine style if this race is anything to go by.
As the flag was set to fall, Taylor remained untroubled at the top, with Spark a distant, but still well-deserved 2nd, Harman a lonely 3rd, and as usual, the fighting waged on behind them. Barrow, Plummer, the Fulk & Richardson car and Jefcoate all on near identical pace, and joining that group was David Sharp in his Lotus Elise S1, affectionally nicknamed “ee-or” (the car, not the driver). Cunniffe, Beale and Farrell were almost on top of one another in the closing stages, with Barley looking on ready to pick up any pieces. A suspected fuel leak saw the Warren McKinlay and Chris Pruden shared Boxster retire with one lap to go.
On Taylor’s last two visits to Silverstone with the Tuscan, he had won the race, and he would not be denied this time either, nearly 2 minutes ahead of Spark, who had discovered early in the race that they were down a cylinder, otherwise they were confident they could have made Taylor work harder for the win. With the Modern Classics win going to the Tuscan, it was 3rd place Harmans Porsche 944 taking the Future Classics win. Only eight cars were to finish on the lead lap, such was the incredible performance of the winning Taylor Tuscan.
Race 5 had a little more of a classic feel about it, with the Advantage Motorsport Future Classics catering to cars from the ’70s and ’80s, and the Modern Classics giving a home to cars from the ’90s. These two groups tend to be put together when grids are combined, and this led to another huge grid, this time with 41 cars taking to qualifying, 39 of which took to the grid. The Titanic Taylor Tuscan, in the hands of Alex Taylor, was the pole sitter in the Modern Classics division, alongside former Caterham racer Matt Sparks new car, the Porsche GT3. Taylor and Spark had come together during qualifying, but this didn’t stop the Tuscan from being two seconds faster than the Porsche. The top Future Classics car was long-time Porsche racer Tony Blake in his Tuscan Challenge five-litre monster, starting in 3rd.
Once again, the field contained an eclectic mixture of cars and engines, from a six-litre Jaguar XJS of the Coppock family to a 1.8-litre Ginetta G20 piloted by Roger Hamilton, from a newer Jaguar S-Type to a somewhat outgunned MG B Roadster, the variety of the grid perfectly demonstrates what the CSCC is all about, motorsport for all ages and almost any kind of car. With the lights out, the roars and screams sang their symphonies to signify the start of the race, but it wasn’t long before there was trouble, and it again involved Taylor’s tail, this time it was Blake that had damage (somewhat ironic as Blake offered to help with the repairs to Taylors Tuscan following qualifying). Taylor was able to continue, but the reshaped Tuscan of Blake was to retire at the end of the lap, as was the Norfolk-based fast Ford collector Martin Reynolds with his Mustang Mach 1, being brought straight through to pits and on to the trailer with electrical problems.
As Taylor was confident that his mighty Tuscan, complete with body restyling, was behaving, he would continue unchallenged up front, with Spark unable to answer but keeping his new Porsche strong in 2nd place, with a superb start from fellow former Caterham racer Patrick Scharfegger, putting his Porsche Boxster into 3rd. The podium trio didn’t have too much to worry about in the early stages of the race, but behind them, it was a busy battlefield, consisting of various-sized groups from two to six-car battles for positions all through the field.
One of the more unusual entries was the Powerbell-run Jaguar S-Type, driven by Paul Last. This is the equivalent of a pool car you would be given when you take your car to be serviced, this S-Type has been seen in the hands of several Powerbell customers. We normally see Powerbell boss Colin Philpots Jaguar XJS doing battle in this group, but sadly he was not out to play. Whilst Last didn’t live up to his name, the big cat sadly retired after three laps. The next car to park was the Porsche 911 964 of James Neal and Neil Harvey, James bringing the car into the pits at the end of lap six with significant rear left damage requiring more than “gentle persuasion” to get back into shape. Richard Hayes in his Toyota Celica GT4 turbo had some damage to the front, and with Neal marching over to Hayes to have a chat during the pit stop, it was easy to deduce the cause of the collision. Hayes was able to continue in the race, the Porsche however did not fare so well.
The third race of the day combined three series together to form the biggest grid of the day. Co-Ord Sports continue its support of one of the most popular series in the entire CSCC, the Tin-Tops. Lohen are a new sponsor on board to support the Turbo Tin Tops this year, with the third category being the Puma Cup. A near-capacity 52 entries took to qualifying, of which 46 would take the start, and the pole spot was taken by six seconds over the second fastest time. You might think that this was a Turbo Tin-Top on pole, but six of the top seven qualifiers were naturally aspirated Tin-Tops. Again, a mixture of fresh faces joined the racing aces for the monster grid ready to do battle.
Danny Cassar was the man responsible for the blistering pace at the top, with fellow Honda pilot Manoj Patel alongside him. The fastest Turbo Tin-Top was in third place Phiroze Bilimoria in his VW Scirocco, and the best Puma was Luke Johnson starting in 36th place. There were some drivers who had just completed the previous race in the New Millennium class, pole sitter Cassar being one of them, having just jumped out of the 2.3-litre Integra into the Tin-Top spec two-litre car. Patel retired from the aforementioned race but did manage to take the start of this race.
As Cassar & Patel led the field to the lights (the back of the field can’t actually see the lights turn green, such is the length of the grid), it was clear that not all was well with Patels Civic as he was soon plummeting through the field, and retired the car, unable to downshift. Cassar extended his lead from anywhere between four to nine seconds per lap over the rest of the field, and no matter where you looked on the circuit, there were groups of cars all arguing for position.
Adam Brown, who had shared the other of the Nigel Ainge owned Civics in the previous race with Cassar, now in his own Fiesta ST, was battling hard for 2nd place with Russell Hird in his Honda Integra, and with the Turbo Tin-Tops leader Bilimoria, the three of them displaying excellent punch and counter-punch moves repeatedly in each lap. In fact, it would be possible to write a university dictation on the amount of battles going on. Very few cars didn’t have a playmate, either through a mistake or retirement, though there were a couple of cars that were simply out-gunned in this field, the works-liveried MG Metro of Ray Kershberg and Daniel Goldberg in particular. Though they were lapped quite early in the race, this didn’t stop them pushing the little Metro to it’s limit, and they are just as welcome in the CSCC as the top guns.
If you can imagine how busy the track was, it was organised chaos in the pitlane when the pitstop window was opened, yet the well-disciplined drivers of the club were able to navigate everything and everyone without incident. A few cars had fallen by the wayside, the Guntons Ford Focus ST225 didn’t make it to the pitstop, Robert Chittocks Polizia liveried Alfa Romeo 147 returned to the paddock, and the Warburton VW Golf GTI didn’t last very long after it’s stop before grinding to a halt.
The Cassar crusade continued unabated after the pitstops were concluded, the three-way resumed between Phiroze Bilimoria, Russell Hird and Adam Brown, who were all passed during the pitstops by James Slater in his Honda Civic by about eight seconds. Biliomoria was given a 30 second penalty for an unsafe release during his pitstop, which then put Peugeot specialist Carl Chambers into the contention for class win, however his bright yellow 208 GTI was to visit the pits another couple of times with a suspicious engine noise. The crew couldn’t see anything out of place in the pit lane, but Chambers didn’t risk pushing the car too far, and decided to retire.
Tom Oatley in his turbo Renault Clio was battling with Andrew Marson, one of the three Marson Fiat Abarths in the race, and the former Smart car races Simon Horrobin & James Palmer shared Ford Fiesta ST180. Husband and wife pairing of Toby Harris & Lisa Selby were next to fall, as their Ford Fiesta turbo was struggling in with low oil pressure, so Toby took the wise decision and cut his stint short to save the engine from detonating.
Battles and potential battles were difficult to read due to numerous groups of cars not all being on the same lap, but a group that were similar in pace in the closing stages of the race was James Joannus Renault Clio turbo, Richard Marsons Abarth, Adrian Matthews in his new and unusual toy, a Volvo C30, and long time Peugeot racer James Wilson. Another duel that formed in the closing stages was the newly recoloured BMW Mini R56 of John Wyatt, and CSCC newcomer Mark Carey in his Honda Integra Type R. Whilst they may not have been battling for class position, as Mark is in Tin Tops, whereas John is in Turbo Tin Tops, this doesn’t affect how close their fight was and hard hard they would make it for each other.
The flag fell after 17 laps, Danny Cassar would claim the win by over a minute from the Turbo Tin-Tops victor Phiroze Bilimoreia, who was chased home by Russell Hird. Sadly for Slater, he was hit with a post-race penalty which denied him 2nd place. Only seven cars were on the lead lap, such was the colossal performance of Cassar. Winner of the Puma Cup, sadly away from the limelight somewhat with so many cars and battles on track, was the Alain Menu Super Touring Mondeo coloured car of Luke Johnson, finishing in 28th place overall, just shy of 50 seconds ahead of the next Puma of Jon Glover.
With the pit stops done, the field had only lost two of its BMWs, the Sapra & Bransom car, and Klaas Kooiker had pulled off early in the race with more smoke than was healthily emanating from the car. After 10 laps, Tommy Grouts E36 had decided that enough was enough, having run as high as third at one point, adding the third BMW to the list of retirees. Despite this, there was still plenty of action to be enjoyed out on track, Dave Harvey’s incredible progress was incredible, Dominic Malone was back into 2nd place, now being kept honest by relative newcomer Chris Murphy in his M3 E46, over a minute behind the leader.
Other battles through the field included the thunder from down under Dave Griffin in his E90 trying to get past the pink accented E36 Evo of Mark Smith, with another pair of Amspeed prepared cars behind them of Ashley Muldoon and Alex Heynes, and the Petch family Ginetta arguing with the Interceptor racing E92 of Mark Wyatt & Russell Humphrey. Joining the Heynes & Muldoon dance was racing veteran Nigel Greensall, having taken over the E46 from racing debutant James Collins by lap 12. A lap later, another addition to the now Greensall-led parade was one of several CSCC new entrants, that of Mark Lee in his Ginetta G55.
As the closing stages of the race began, almost all the aforementioned battles were still raging on. Greensall had (some would say inevitably) broken away from his pursuers, and trouble was to befall the Tom Gannon-built “Gannon Cannon” Honda Civic of Manoj Patel. He won the Tin Tops race on the previous visit to the Silverstone GP circuit in 2021, but alas the car was to experience trouble and retired from the race. He didn’t have long to fix the issue, as the Honda was due out in the very next race.
The next victim was the green Petch family Ginetta. Petch senior Chris has been with the CSCC since 2005 in a Triumph TR5, and his boys Harry & Max often share the big G50, but this time the car simply lost drive. Chris was able to limp the car back to the garage for the team to work on before the final race of the day, in which the Ginetta was due to reappear.
Motorsport, at all levels, can provide many memorable moments, both of joy and despair, and the final non-finisher of the race was about to remind the spectators of exactly this, as on the final lap, the pole sitter Malone was found stationary at the side of the track. From pole and fastest lap, looking set to secure second place, but sadly the renowned German engineering of the BMW failed him this time. Like the Petch crew, Malone had time before the car was on parade again to get the E90 back on song.
David Harvey and his lunar Lotus 340R would not be denied the top honours of the day, winning by over 30 seconds, even with a post-race 20-second penalty applied for the Code 60 infringement. Chris Murphy secured second, with Dylan Popovic bringing his snarling Ginetta home in third, all three of the podium sitters from the Open Series category. As for New Millennium, the winner of that category was Mark Smith, very narrowly from Dave Griffin, and the Collins & Greensall shared car in third.
The second race of the day was the WOSP New Millennium and Verum Builders Open series. CSCC welcomes Luke Wos’ performance tuning business, which has taken the title sponsorship role for the New Millennium category, catering for post-2000 production cars and their racing variants, as well as Rob Hardys Wiltshire-based Verum Builders company continued support of the Open series, which provides a home for all production saloon, hatchback, sports & GT cars of any age, as well as some kit cars.
In contrast to race 1 which focused on the Lotus 7-inspired design, this combination attracted 33 entrants to take to qualifying, of which 30 made it to the grid. No less than 10 marques were represented through the field, with neither the New Millennium nor Open series holding dominion over the other, as the first three rows had one representative of each category.
A familiar face secured pole position, that of bath-based dentist Dominic Malone in his BMW M3 E90, previously raced by Sir Andy Priaulx MBE. Right next to him was the lead Open Series car of Dave Harvey in his moon buggy-esque Lotus 340R, reportedly the only one racing in the UK. Throughout the grid were some amazing driving talent, along with debutants, such as James Collins who was taking part in his first-ever race, partnered up with racing veteran Nigel Greensall in a BMW M3 E46.
With Malone & Harvey leading to the field to the green light for the first 40-minute race of the year, the various roars and screams of the hugely varied engine notes kicked in and the race began. As the lights went out, so did Malone’s momentum as Harvey stole the lead through Copse. Behind them was a superb start from Bosnian-born Dylan Popovic in his Chevrolet-powered Ginetta G50, demoting Malone to 3rd. It wasn’t long though before the race was neutralised, this time by a code 60, caused by Warren Tattersall who had buried his Seat Leon TCR into the gravel trap at Copse. He was recovered by the ever-hardworking marshalls and was allowed to continue, but a lap down from the rest of the field.
As the code 60 concluded, curiously Harvey was nearly a minute ahead of Popovic, who in turn was about 12 seconds ahead of Malone, after which point there was a flood of competitors, a 5-way BMW battle going on for 4th, a 3-way fight for 9th that was led by the first non-BMW outside of the podium contenders, and various clusters of cars all arguing for their own segment of Northampton real estate.
The first pit stop of the year belonged to the BMW owned by the class champion in the Kumho BMW championship Jasver Sapra, whom this time was sharing the car with usual playmate Bryan Bransom. It was Bransom who brought the car in, and there they remained for what felt like an eternity for them as the new paddle shift system was being checked over, this being the first race the car has had with this system in place, however a lap later, Sapra brought the car back in and into retirement. The pitlane was a hive of activity as the next few laps progressed. Mark Smith, whose son runs the Amspeed outfit that looks after a number of the BMWs seen on the CSCC grid, stalled trying to get going from his stop, requiring a push start to get himself going again.
The Classic Sports Car Club celebrates their 20th year of racing in 2023, which brings with it additional excitement and anticipation of a new year of racing. On the 26th of February, the club went to Silverstone to begin the racing season. Five categories took part in six races across the day, with the days racing beginning with the Gold Arts Magnificent 7s. This class consists of anything based on the original Lotus 7 design, and whilst Caterham is the most populous marque in this category, there is usually a sprinkling of Locost, Spire and Westfield to name a few.
On the sunny (and VERY cold) Sunday in Northampton, the Mag 7 grid was a little diminished from the usually expected turnout, due in part to the very early start in the year for the club, and also due to drivers not wanting to drive at over 100mph through sub 10 degree C air temperatures in open cars, but 17 cars took the start of their first of two races of the day. The top three cars were prepared by Caterham powerhouse BOSS racing, with the pole belonging to long-time Caterham racer Johnny Pittard. Pittard is no stranger to the front of a Caterham field, but he was joined by Team Leos boss Luke Stevens. The turbo-charged CSR at his command was the car that Luke won the national championship with in 2005, which is commonly driven by David Holroyd these days. Jonathan Edwards (not the former Olympic triple jumper) qualified 4th in his maiden voyage with the CSCC, with fellow debutants Chris Mayhew starting 6th, Jonathan Constable 12th and Stephen Trinder starting at the back.
As the rolling start drew to its conclusion, Pittard and Stevens led the field over the National start line, and the dulcet Duratec tones roared into life as the race began, the first race of the year, the fighting into the first corner…… sadly led to the first safety car of the year as three cars were not going to see the conclusion of the lap. Tim Woodman and Richard Green had come together, scattering several pieces of their cars around Copse corner, and the sole non-Caterham in the field of Michael Jacobs and Rob Olley would also be caught up in the incident, reducing the field to 14 cars.
Once the ever-vigilant Silverstone marshalls had worked their magic and the safety car signalled to the field that it was time to resume, less than nine of the starting 20 minutes remained, however even with a smaller field and a shorter race, what a spectacle the drivers put on. Pittard and Stevens enjoyed a very tense duel for the overall win, supercharged 2.3 litres for Pittard against turbo-charged 1.6 litres for Stevens, both drivers giving everything they and their cars had to put on an incredible show.
Whilst the lead pair ran off into the distance, the fighting was no less intense for numerous cars behind them. CSR Superlight pilot Bruce Wilson, who has had several top 10 Mag 7 finishes at Silverstone since he began racing the car in 2015, was locked in his own duel with Nick Starkey in his C400, with another trio battling further down the road behind them, consisting of Joshua Gollin, the Lanyon brothers’ Superlight R, and the 420R of Jolyon Kemp.
In the end, it was Pittard from Stevens for the top spot, separated by less than the time it takes to blink, Edwards scoring the best of the newcomers in 4th place, Starkey overhauled Mayhew for 5th at the flag with Wilson right behind, the Lanyons broke free of Kemp & Gollin for 8th, with Constable hot on their heels and the late-charging Martin Dolan / Gary Boon shared car at the tail of the conga line, Surhid Chatterjee a distant 13th, and Trinder in his somewhat outgunned Academy car the last finisher in 14th.
This evening, I caught up with British Superbike Championship contender Christian Iddon to see how he’s feeling as the countdown to Testing and Round 1 looms ever closer.
Iddon joins the Oxford Products Ducati team ran by Steve Moore’s Moto Rapido Racing outfit as they challenge for British Superbike Championship glory in 2023.
Christian Iddon – Image Oxford Products Racing Ducati
“I’m really excited for the season ahead. Back to the Ducati which I know really well and I’ve had success on in the past. I have really high expectations, that is clear! I really want to put everything that happened last year behind me. I just had one of those year where I feel I didn’t get the most out of the package and things just didn’t work out.”
“In 2022, I struggled with an injury and things just never fell my way. It’s not an excuse as the bike, although it wasn’t the best on the grid, it certainly had more potential than what I showed. I wish I’d been able to do that, but I wasn’t.”
Christian Iddon Buildbase Suzuki, Hawk Racing Team Picture courtesy of Christian Iddon
“So we start a fresh and go again! I am really positive about the year that’s coming up. We have some really exciting riders coming in to BSB and a few have left and I wouldn’t be racing if I didn’t think I could do a particular job, and that’s the job in hand, the one I am aiming to do but it’s the same one I’ve been doing the whole time I’ve been racing.”
“This year I definitely believe I have the tools to do the job required. Although we’ve not been out yet, so far the Moto Rapido squad from what they have shown me, what I have seen of them is beyond impressive really. They’re probably one of the most technically advanced teams I’ve ever worked with, in any part of my racing career. That’s really exciting for me. I feel like I’m cut from a similar cloth, though I am clearly not as technically advanced as the team members but I’m on that trajectory shall we say? I’m on that similar wavelength, so I am really looking forward to that. It’s a slightly different way of working but it’s one that I think will suit me.”
Christian Iddon – Image Vision Track Ducati 2020-2021
“I just want to get the first test out of the way and spin those first few laps. It’s been a long time since I raced, or since I cocked a leg over a tarmac based bike anyway so I’m looking forward to getting out. I have high expectations but you never know, there’s a massively stacked field this year and I can only control the ‘controlables’ which is to just work on myself, as I always do and what will be, will be more or less. There are a lot of strong riders and packages out there this year, and hopefully we are the best of them. I guess we will find out at the end of the season.”
Christian had a year in the doldrums on the Buildbase Suzuki in 2022 and would be the first to say he didn’t live up to his own expectations with the Hawk squad. 2023 is about getting back to winning ways and returning home with even more silverware for the trophy cabinet. Christian seems determined that this year, nothing but the championship is expected! I for one wish him the very best of luck! #Lightning
Follow me on twitter for more biking, and bike racing shenanigans!
Race 4 saw the return of the Gold Arts Magnificent 7s for their second 20 minute blast around the home of British motorsport. Of the 17 qualifiers, only 13 were seen on the second race for the Magnificent 7s, the absences being the three retirees of the first race, but also Johnny Pittard’s duelling partner up front Luke Stephens was nowhere to be found, which was a shame as a resumption of the lead battle would have been amazing to see. The three retired cars from race one, we can understand, but the reason for Stevens no reappearing was somewhat unusual. No damage to the car, no electrical fault of any kind, he had found a buyer for the car. The days racing was being used to demonstrate how competitive the car still was, and the tactic worked a treat. Whether the sale was completed trackside, only Luke knows.
The grid was formed from the finishing positions of the previous race, with a 10-place grid penalty for Pittard as the winner of the race, and with Stevens’ absence, Richard Carter had the front row to himself. Having had a comparatively lonely race 1st time around, Carter could well have faced a more challenging prospect this time.
As the yellow number 42 of Carter led the field over the line, this time the safety car would not be called up as the field swarmed through the first lap without incident, Pittard with his 2.4 litre supercharged monster was 2.5 seconds into the lead from 11th on the grid by the end of lap 1, and there he remained unchallenged until the flag, but behind him, the battles raged on. Bruce Wilson and Chris Mayhew resumed their duel from the first race, with the trio of Joshua Gollin, the Lanyon brothers and Jolyon Kemp reforming their conga line. Wilson and Mayhew swapped their positions several times in the quest for 4th, but a mistake from Kemp on lap 4 saw his conga spot taken by Johnathan Constable.
By the final flag, Pittard had secured both wins of the day, the second by over 30 seconds from Carter, who was nearly 14 seconds ahead of another superb (if a little lonely) outing by Johnathan Edwards, Wilson just managed to fend off the determined newcomer Mayhew, Lanyon was the conga champion in 6th place from Constable and Ben Salmon, Gollin had made a late mistake dropping him to 9th, with the Martin Dolan & Gary Boon car, Surheed Chatterjee and Stephen Trinder finishing a lap behind.
Sunday’s Pala Casino 400 saw Kyle Busch outrun Chase Elliott’s late race charge to win NASCAR’s final Cup race at Auto Club Speedway in its two-mile superspeedway format before being taken off the schedule to be reconfigured most likely into a short track of one mile or less.
Kyle Busch’s first win of the 2023 Cup Series season, in just his second points paying race with Richard Childress Racing, sees him go above Richard Petty for the most consecutive seasons with at least one win, making it 19-consecutive seasons, starting in 2005.
Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 8 Lucas Oil Chevrolet, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Pala Casino 400 at Auto Club Speedway (Photo by Meg Oliphant | Getty Images)
Busch mirrored his previous triumph here when he won the 2005 Auto Club Cup race, his first Cup win, in just his fourth start for Hendrick Motorsports.
In 2005, @KyleBusch won his first Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway. Busch and Rick Hendrick both donated their winnings to the American Red Cross Hurricane Relief Fund. pic.twitter.com/OSZjIytjlt
Talking on the frontstretch after the race Busch said: “I death gripped that wheel throughout the second half of that race, we held on man, we got it today.”
The four-time Fontana winner teared back through the field in what seemed like a handful of laps, after being penalised and sent to the rear for speeding on pit road on lap 43 under caution, after running inside the top 10.
Busch took the lead of the race for the first time with 63 laps to go, then again with 36 laps to go after passing Chastain through the green flag pit cycle and then again following green flag pit stops on lap 180 of the 200-lap race where he would stay.
Busch added: “I’ve worked with a lot of great people who’ve given me a lot of great opportunities in my career. It’s awesome to be able to reward them.”
Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 8 Lucas Oil Chevrolet, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Pala Casino 400 at Auto Club Speedway (Photo by Meg Oliphant | Getty Images)
It was Busch’s 61st Cup career win, ninth-all time.
The track proved to entertain much like last year with drivers using all five lanes to race and search for clean air, but this time without any sudden tyre failures.
It was Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain that spent the most time upfront, winning both stages convincingly, leading the most laps with 91 and coming home third. He has won three of the four stages this year, including winning stage two of last week’s Daytona 500.
Chastain’s teammate Daniel Suarez showed speed, racing in the top 10, and was looking for a way past Chastain for the lead on the opening laps of a stage one restart. Suarez finished fourth.
Daniel Suárez, driver of the No. 99 Freeway Insurance Chevrolet, pits during the NASCAR Cup Series Pala Casino 400 at Auto Club Speedway (Photo by Meg Oliphant | Getty Images)
Chase Elliott was in the mix during the second half of the race, slowly working his way through the top 10 until he got past Chastain for second with 21 laps to go and narrowed the gap to Busch down to 3.4 seconds before the gap levelled out. Elliott finished 2.998-seconds behind Busch.
Joey Logano had been a contender for most of the race, taking the lead multiple times from Chastain and Hamlin, until the final stint following green flag pit stops with under 40 laps to go, where he dropped back throughout the final run to finish 10th.
It had been the Chastain-Logano-Busch show previous to final green flag pit stops. With 55 laps to go, Chastain threw an aggressive block on Logano when he and Busch got stalled out side-by-side for the lead, but Logano swept down to the apron and cleared both going into turn one.
Rest of race recap
Saturday’s qualifying was cancelled due to a historic weather event that swept the racetrack including blizzard-like conditions of snow, sleet and wind, hitting Fontana and the surrounding LA area Friday and Saturday.
A five-wide salute was shown to the sell-out crowd on the warm-up laps in appreciation of their continued support and love given to Auto Club Speedway.
Christopher Bell, driver of the #20 Sirius XM Toyota, Ricky Stenhouse Jr, driver of the #47 Ralphs/Tree Top Chevrolet, Joey Logano, driver of the #22 AAA Southern California Ford, Alex Bowman, driver of the #48 Ally Chevrolet, and Chris Buescher, driver of the #17 Pala Casino Ford, in a five-wide salute to the fans prior to the NASCAR Cup Series Pala Casino 400 at Auto Club Speedway on February 26, 2023 in Fontana, California. (Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images)
It was Bakersfield, California’s Kevin Harvick 750th straight Cup start, only behind Jeff Gordon and Ricky Rudd for all-time.
JGR’s Christopher Bell led from the off after being awarded the pole due to having the best fastest lap speed and finishing position combination from last week’s Daytona 500.
Christopher Bell, driver of the #20 Sirius XM Toyota, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr, driver of the #47 Ralphs/Tree Top Chevrolet, lead the field to start the NASCAR Cup Series Pala Casino 400 at Auto Club Speedway on February 26, 2023 in Fontana, California. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)
Alex Bowman, who finished eighth, took the lead on lap two going into turn one and went straight to the top groove while the rest of the field searched all over the race track for grip.
A lack of rubber being laid down prior to the race due to the weather, saw everyone run the top groove following Bowman but before long drivers throughout the field were diving to the middle and bottom lanes again to find extra speed and clean air while the top was still preferred.
A general view of racing during the NASCAR Cup Series Pala Casino 400 at Auto Club Speedway on February 26, 2023 in Fontana, California. (Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images)
On lap 13, Kyle Larson, last year’s Fontana winner, came down pit road and went to the garage to fix an electrical problem. Larson did go back out but was not operating under full power. The Cali kid finished 29th, 15 laps down.
Chastain took over the lead on pit road during the competition caution period on lap 17.
Team Penske’s Logano and Ryan Blaney traded the lead after surpassing Chastain before Brad Keselowski was sent spinning down the back straightaway after Corey LaJoie tagged his left rear on lap 42.
Keselowski was running 13th place at the time and came back to finish seventh, in what was a solid day for Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing with teammate Chris Buescher running inside the top 10 throughout the race before finishing 13th.
Blaney and Suarez kept Chastain honest at the end of the first stage but it wasn’t enough to beat the eighth-generation watermelon farmer to the finish line.
Denny Hamlin passed Chastain for the lead on lap 72 before he threw an aggressive block three-laps later on Logano, much like Chastain would later on in the race, but Logano dived to the inside to take the lead on the frontstretch.
Joey Logano, driver of the No. 22 AAA Southern California Ford, and Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 Sport Clips Haircuts Toyota, race during the NASCAR Cup Series Pala Casino 400 at Auto Club Speedway (Photo by Meg Oliphant | Getty Images)
Austin Dillon and Noah Gragson briefly led during stage two after staying out on older tyres before Logano seized back the lead.
Corey LaJoie continued to find himself in trouble. On lap 76, he clipped AJ Allmendinger trying to avoid Blaney and Stenhouse Jr. in front, sending the Californian skidding into the inside wall on the backstretch.
LaJoie became the victim of the next caution several laps later when Tyler Reddick ran into the back of him sending him into the infield grass.
The biggest incident of the day was yet to come. On the lap 86 restart a 10-car crash occurred when the field stacked up sending Ty Dillon spinning into the grass, and Bell, Reddick, Preece, and Almirola crashing into the pack among others.
All four except Ty Dillon would retire from the race, only for Dillon to retire later with 61 laps to go due to engine trouble. Blaney received heavy damage from the crash and had to settle for 26th.
Kyle Busch would take second away from former teammate Hamlin on lap 93 while Chastain led. Busch was filling Chastain’s mirrors inside of 20 to go in stage two; a blanket could be thrown over second to sixth place in the closing laps. Chastain won stage two with a six second lead over Busch.
Kevin Harvick, in his final season before retiring, got the lead on pit road during the stage break before Kyle Busch took the lead for the first time on lap 138.
Michael McDowell led for a handful of laps during the final green flag run as he held out for a caution compared to most of the field pitting 10+ laps earlier. On fresher tyres following his final pit stop, McDowell managed to finish 18th.
Bubba Wallace spent the first half of the race inside the top 15, often inside the top 10, but overheating issues would force him out of the race on lap 172.
The third race of the season sees the Cup Series go to the 1.5 mile speedway Las Vegas Motor Speedway this Sunday, Kyle Busch’s home track, for the Pennzoil 400 with the race starting at 3:30pm ET.
Full race results
Kyle Busch, 200
Chase Elliott, 200
Ross Chastain, 200
Daniel Suarez, 200
Kevin Harvick, 200
Denny Hamlin, 200
Brad Keselowski, 200
Alex Bowman, 200
Austin Dillon, 200
Joey Logano, 200
Martin Truex Jr., 200
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 200
Chris Buescher, 200
Corey LaJoie, 200
Harrison Burton, 200
Ty Gibbs, 200
Todd Gilliland, 200
Michael McDowell, 200
Erik Jones, 200
Chase Briscoe, 200
Justin Haley, 199
Noah Gragson, 199
JJ Yeley, 199
BJ McLeod, 199
William Byron, 198
Ryan Blaney, 196
Cody Ware, 195
Austin Cindric, 194
Kyle Larson, 185
Bubba Wallace, Engine, 172
Ty Dillon, Engine, 140
Christopher Bell, Accident, 88
Ryan Preece, Accident, 87
Tyler Reddick, Accident, 87
Aric Almirola, Accident, 86
AJ Allmendinger, Accident, 75
Stage 1
Ross Chastain
Ryan Blaney
Daniel Suarez
Alex Bowman
Denny Hamlin
William Byron
Joey Logano
Kevin Harvick
Martin Truex Jr.
Chase Elliott
Stage 2
Ross Chastain
Kyle Busch
Joey Logano
Kevin Harvick
Daniel Suarez
Denny Hamlin
Chase Elliott
Alex Bowman
Brad Keselowski
Corey LaJoie
Points standings
Ross Chastain – 92
Joey Logano – 91
Alex Bowman – 80
Kevin Harvick – 79
Daniel Suarez – 77
Chris Buescher – 74
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.* – 73
Kyle Busch* – 67
Denny Hamlin – 64
Brad Keselowski – 64
Martin Truex Jr. – 60
Ryan Blaney – 57
Corey LaJoie – 51
Chase Elliott – 49
Christopher Bell – 49
Michael McDowell – 40
Ty Gibbs – 38
Austin Cindric – 38
AJ Allmendinger – 35
Harrison Burton – 35
Todd Gilliland – 35
Cody Ware – 33
Austin Dillon – 32
Kyle Larson – 32
Aric Almirola – 31
Bubba Wallace – 28
Noah Gragson – 28
Travis Pastrana – 26
William Byron – 25
Justin Haley – 21
BJ McLeod – 20
Erik Jones – 19
Chase Briscoe – 19
Ryan Preece – 15
J.J. Yeley – 14
Jimmie Johnson – 10
Ty Dillon – 7
Tyler Reddick – 4
Featured Image: Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 8 Lucas Oil Chevrolet, celebrates with the checkered flag after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Pala Casino 400 at Auto Club Speedway (Photo by Meg Oliphant | Getty Images)
